The BivAToL team examined stomach morphology and other features of
the alimentary tract, the morphology of gills and labial palps, shell
microstructure, and sperm ultrastructure.Molecular markers included two nuclear ribosomal genes (18S and 28S
rRNA), one nuclear protein encoding gene (histone H3), one mitochondrial ribosomal
gene (16S rRNA) and one mitochondrial protein-encoding gene (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I; COI).Four additional nuclear protein-encoding genes
were also generated for a subset of taxa.This impressive assemblage of data was analyzed using a variety of
methods including parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference with molecular
data alone and in combination with the morphological characters.The
results consistently recovered the monophyly of Autobranchia, Pteriomorphia,
Heterochonchia, Palaeoheterodonta, Archiheterodonta, Euheterodonta,
Anomalodesmata and a new clade Imparidentia (=Euheterodonta excluding
Anomalodesmata).The authors also
discussed the origin and diversification times for each of the major clades and
provided a classification scheme for the six major monophyletic groups of
modern Bivalvia.This important paper is
certain to stimulate much more research on bivalve systematics and and other
interesting evolutionary questions.

About Me

I am the Chair of the Department of Biology and Chemistry at Morehead State University and have been studying the systematic relationships of freshwater mollusks for over 20 years. I am currently managing the American Malacological Society's Molluscan Musings which features various topics on systematics and biodiversity of mollusks. I will be contributing and coordinating activity on these blogs including inviting guest contributors. Thanks for checking it out.